First, we begin with the head of a pig (fresh is always preferable to frozen). Exactly which parts of a pig's head are included in Scrapple depends somewhat on regional preference.

To begin, the head should be cut in half, or even quartered. (The ears make for conventient handles while sawing the skull.) While an axe or cleaver can be used to split the head, a saw is preferable in that it produces no bone fragments.

Once the head is sectioned, some people remove the brains. Some remove the teeth - bashing them off with a cleaver. Yet others remove the eyes. The most nutritious scrapples contain the entire head! That said, however, special care should be taken to remove the ear drums. Left in place, they contribute a distinctively bitter taste to the Scrapple, which while popular in Pittsburgh, is generally disliked elsewhere.

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